Most Canadians have been touched by cancer, or have a close family member or friend who has.
But as prevalent as cancer is, arthritis is far more common.
Yet this arthritis goes largely ignored when it comes to attracting funding and research.
According to a recent report by The Canadian Press health writer Sheryl Ubelacker, medical experts are calling arthritis “the invisible disease” that cost the Canadian economy a “staggering” $33 billion last year in health-care spending and lost productivity.
About 4.6 million Canadians are affected by arthritis
Yet it remains a low-priority area for health spending, primarily because it seldom leads to death.
The medical community is now advocating for increased funding and greater understanding. The profession is advocating for more research into the infliction that robs sufferers of lifestyle choices that many of us take for granted — something as simple as turning a page of a book, for example, can be difficult or impossible.
Excruciating pain in the joints can render a person incapacitated. A simple walk up and down a staircase can be painful, if not impossible.
Fingers can become gnarled and useless.
The Arthritis Alliance of Canada, in its recent report The Impact of Arthritis in Canada: Today and Over the Next 30 Years, calls for the disease to be put on a priority list.
“Our patients live in pain and often in silent pain, invisible pain, and it becomes obvious when they break down,” said Dr. Claire Bombardier, director of the rheumatology division at the University of Toronto. “They have to stop working. . . . There are all sorts of impacts on life: people have to move (from their homes because) they aren’t able to go up and down stairs, they’re not able to go to the toilet, they need other people to help them.”
The chronic pain can disturb sleep and lead to fatigue and depression — and even suicide.
The Arthritis Alliance warns in its report that the numbers of those inflicted could skyrocket in the coming decades as more of the aging population is living longer. “. . . If you look at the sheer number of people who have osteoarthritis . . . in the next 30 years, there will 10 million — it’s a significant portion of the population,” said Dr. Dianne Mosher, a Calgary rheumatologist who co-authored the Arthritis Alliance report.
Yet, as The Canadian Press reported, despite the millions of people suffering and the economic ramifications, arthritis gets little attention compared with cancer and cardiovascular disease.
“In our specialty, our patients don’t die,” said Bombardier. That fact, say researchers, actually penalizes those who are stricken with arthritis.
The Arthritis Alliance is working on a strategy to prevent the condition and improve treatment.
It’s calling on government policy-makers, the corporate sector and the insurance industry to join with advocacy groups in creating a national strategy to reduce the burden of arthritis on Canadians.
“We don’t have the magic bullet or the magic pill for the pain,” said Mosher, adding more effective medications need to be developed.
The first step will be to create greater understanding of the affliction. That should lead to more funding and more research — and progress on improving the lives of arthritis sufferers.
Rick Zemanek is an Advocate editor.